Science explains why 'humble bragging' is so annoying

Next time you're proud of your accomplishments, don't mask it.Strelka/Flickr

Researchers at Harvard Business School studied the implications of how people present their accomplishments.

They found that trying to mask your achievements with humility comes off as insincere.

People who honestly brag are more likeable than those who humblebrag.

Humblebragging has been around a long time. Jane Austen wrote about it in Pride and Prejudice— noting "Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast."

Here's an example — "I can't believe they all thought of me to nominate for this award and want me to give a talk in front of thousands of people."

Is this topic really worth the attention of such high-powered intellects? In their defense, it is certainly true that HBS students — and indeed everyone — must present themselves to others in many different situations. The problem people face is how best to describe their accomplishments while simultaneously getting listeners to like them.

People seem to think that humblebragging is an effective way to achieve both objectives. The researchers observed that humblebragging comes in two forms: humility-based: "I really can't believe I can afford to fly first class." and complaint-based: "I hate when first class is no different than coach. #wasteofmoney."

Through nine different studies the HBS researchers reached a simple conclusion — humblebragging does not get you liked or respected because it is perceived as insincere. "Humblebraggers overlook the impact of the strategy on another critical dimension of social evaluation: sincerity. Perceived sincerity is a critical factor in determining the success of self-presentation, with perceived insincerity driving negative evaluations. We suggest that despite its prevalence, humblebragging may be ineffective in making a favorable impression due to the perceived insincerity it generates—with this lack of perceived sincerity driving lower evaluations," the researchers wrote.

Individually, humility or complaining may make people like you more. Humility works because "when actors are humble, they reduce the risk of social comparison or threat that observers may feel - thereby inspiring liking," they wrote.

Complaining — if not done too frequently — can also confer three benefits: it helps you to "gain sympathy and receive help from others;" conveys "a level of closeness and trust - and thus engenders liking;" and can — if, for example, it is about a common boss, "express similarity, thereby inducing liking."

But combining either of those with a brag will backfire.

So what should you do instead? They concluded that an honest brag works better than a humble one. According to their paper, "The proliferation of humblebragging in social media, the workplace, and everyday life suggests that people believe it to be an effective self-promotion strategy. Yet we show that people readily denigrate humblebraggers. Faced with the choice to (honestly) brag or (deceptively) humblebrag, would-be self-promoters should choose the former—and at least reap the rewards of seeming sincere.

In short, skip the humblegrag and announce evenly: "I'm flying first class."